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| Oil slides below US$46 on stronger USD, economic concern [CFP] |
Crude oil tumbled nearly 9 percent to below US$46 on Monday as the dollar strengthened and investors grew more concerned about the economic recovery.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery dropped US$4.45, or 8. 8 percent, to settle at US$45.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar hit a one-month high against a basket of currencies on Monday, which pressured the oil market and sent the crude futures nosediving.
Meanwhile, a sharp drop in the?US equity market also dampened investors' sentiment. Major indexes halted a six-week gaining streak and lost more than 3 percent on Monday as worries about the banks' troubled loans resurfaced.
Also on Monday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that the agency will cut global economic forecasts in the coming week. Strauss-Kahn said that he expected a recovery to start in the first half of next year.
In London, Brent crude for June delivery fell US$3.49 to settle at US$49.86 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2009)
